The Vagrants - I Can't Make a Friend 1965 -1968

What a nice surprise.  Garage band from Forest Hills, NY.  This is not the snarling garage punk rock variety but is instead more melody based with a few elements of folk rock.

For a taste of how melodic these guys could be, take a listen to this gorgeous song called, Your Hasty Heart.  Also, check out, You're Too Young.  Here is a final song, And When It's Over.  If this is your bag, you will like the Vagrants.

Record of the Week: Newtown Neurotics - Punk Collection

When I first started working at Off The Record in San Diego when I was a freshman in college, I was still pretty new to "punk" music. I was aware and into bands like The Clash, The Jam, The Sex Pistols, etc, but I did not really know much about the thousands of other punk bands from that era; bands that were as good as the bands that were famous.  However, at Off The Record, I was able to explore LPSs and 45s to my heart's content.  My first exposure to the Newtown Neurotics came in the way of import of 45s from the UK.  I can't remember what order I bought them in but I remember that I picked up 3 pretty much right in a row.  The time frame? 1981/82?  For the longest time, all that was available were these three (or four?) killer singles with these great, melodic punk riffs and Steve Drewett's impassioned vocals. Check out Kick Out the Tories, or Mindless Violence. 

Eventually, the Newtown Neurotics LP finally came out and we all rejoiced because we had a full album of this tremendous three piece band with new songs that were just as good as those on the early 45s.  On this debut LP, we were introduced other classic Neurotics songs like No Respect and Newtown People. Here is a live version of Newtown People. 

This collection, which I highly recommend, contains all the Newtown Neurotics 45s (both A and B sides) and the full debut LP on one CD. The CD comes with Steve's notes and comments on each song in this collection. If you like any of the songs I have posted above, I think you will enjoy the rest of this CD.

A tremendous band.

Various Artists: Buried Alive!! Demented Teenage Fuzz From Down Under 1965-1970

6 CD box set with 150 rare and previously unreleased R&B, Psyche, Punk, Garage, and Freakbeat music from Australia! The period covered is 1965-1970.  This box set comes with a tremendous, fully packed booklet inside.  Unfortunately, it hard to read due to the background coloring. It is a little bit of a chore but if you get it under the correct light it can be done (why did they make it hard to read?).

I listened to these CDs over time since trying to absorb all this music at one time would be overwhelming.  If you love garage rock, it is a must. It is not terribly expensive given the amount of music you get and I think you will find enough on here to make it worth your while. Enjoy

Record of the Week: Haim - Something To Tell You

Ok. I have a soft spot for these three sisters from Los Angeles. Their brand of modern, techno, dance pop is not my normal cup of tea but there is something about the fact that they ARE three sisters that really enjoy making music together and, it seems that they really love hanging out with each other. The bond seems very real. How can anyone hate that?

Aside from the above, Haim can write some really nice pop songs. Their first album was full of hidden pop gems. This new one also has some nice tracks. I am currently listening to Little of Your Love, and it is a perfect example of what these sisters do best.  Also, I love Danielle's phrasing when she sings.  She has this vocal tic in that she uses a beat-keeping device during her singing. See if you can pick up the number of times you hear her saying "heh" during a vocal performance.

Honestly, I was a little worried about the single that they released before the album came out.  When I first heard, Want You Back, I was a little sad.  I have heard that song numerous times now and I keep waiting for the hook and the melody to take me some place. Unfortunately, the hook never arrives.  So, I did buy this album thinking that maybe they had run out songs after just one album.  I was clearly WRONG. The new songs are definitely there and all you have to do is buy the album and listen. By the way, Something to Tell You and You Never Knew are excellent. This is now my 4th listen and I love the melodies. In a more pure-dance vain, Walking Away, is slow and moody, stone-cold killer track. I even find myself moving to the slow groove of this song while I am typing this sentence. Someone could remix this and make it a club hit.

You know what I would love to hear? Haim taken a more rock'n'roll approach. Wouldn't it  be great to have the Haim girls produced by Grohl (as an example)?  Let's do it Girls! By the way, I love your albums.

Record of the Week: Chastity Belt - I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone

This is the second Chastity Belt album that has really impressed me.  The first album that I heard was the previous album, Time To Go Home.  I really liked the song Cool Slut.  I didn't know much about the band at the time that I bought the CD (and I still don't) but the moody melodies, the sound of the guitars, and the overall vibe of the record to me was outstanding.  Mix all that with some female vocals and it was a potent mix of pleasure.  I recommend that album highly.

This new album hits all the same chords for me as the first one and to my surprise, it is even more melodic than the last one.  Again, the songs are moody and they create just the right background for a Friday night in the house listening to music. For a sense of what you are getting, listen to What the Hell or check out the video for Different Now.

I like this band. I like them because they hit a mood that I can relate to and they do it in a real catchy way.

Record of the Week: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound

Jason first made an impression on me when he was with the Drive By Truckers.  His songs stood out.  Even surrounded by two other very good songwriters in that band, Jason songs still painted an image that was a bit sharper than of his colleagues.  When Jason left the band and went solo I made a point to follow him as best I could.  Since then I have purchased most, if not all, of Jason's output and each time his songwriting stood out. 

Right before I left Houston, Texas on my long drive to Los Angeles, California, I picked up two of Jason's latest CDs for the trip. The albums Southeastern and Something More Than Free found Jason, without his band, in a more traditional singer-songwriter format that helped to highlight his lyrics.  Both of those CDs were played more than a few times as I cut across the Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona deserts in my car.  The songs somehow fit really well during that trip and it was almost as if I was supposed to listen to them during that time.  A person has a lot of time to think when he is crossing half the country by himself in a car and the music you listen to burn harder in your brain. If you have not heard these two albums, go buy them.

Having that experience, I was excited to go out and buy this new release by Jason.  On this record he is back with a full band that includes his talented and beautiful wife Amanda Shires.  The band is solid and the electric guitars fill out the melodies nicely. 

Jason is a story-teller that uses music as his medium to express himself. The musical backdrop he uses is often called Americana.  Put differently, there is definitely some twang in his music and lyrics. The reason that I bring up the twang element of his music is that there are two other American songwriters that are able to paint similar vivid images using this backdrop: Jay Farrar (Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt); and Gary Louris (Jayhawks).  Jason fits nicely next to those two giants.

Check out Molotov and a live version Last of My Kind

Record of the Week: Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2 - Star Suff

I enjoyed shopping at Freakbeat Records in Los Angeles on Sundays because usually Ric Menck of Velvet Crush worked there.  Aside from drumming with Velvet Crush, Ric is also Matthew Sweet's drummer of choice on albums and tours (actually, along with other Velvet Crush members at times). 

Ric is about a year older than me and since he plays in bands that I love, it is not surprising that our musical tastes are similar. So, I am always keen to hear what Ric's latest recommendations are or, as in this case, what he decides to play in the store when he is working.  The last time I was there, Ric played this CD while I was shopping and it definitely got my attention.

The band is essentially The Mattson 2 and Chaz Bundick is a prominent guest of the band on this CD. I don't know much about either The Mattson 2 or Chaz Bundick.  According to Discogs, the Mattson 2 appear to be two brothers (Jared and Jonathan), while Chaz Bundick appears to be a U.S. producer.  Ric mentioned that the brothers may be from San Diego, or at least the general SoCal region. 

When I mentioned to Ric that I wanted to know what he was playing in the store that day, he told me that every time he plays a Mattson 2 record in the shop someone always come up and asks him who is the band that is playing.  So, I guess I am not alone in thinking that this band is on to something.

In trying to think about the music that The Mattson 2 plays it may be better to try and let you know what images came to my head while I played them on my home stereo.  Honestly, the first band that came to my head was Tame Impala from Australia.  This record has that modern psychedelic feel to it but it also contains some jazzy and progressive elements to it.  I use the term "prog" on purpose because certain of their songs reminded me of Yes albums, especially Relayer and Going for the One.  I am not claiming that the band is a prog band but I did hear a little Yes in some of the passages. I think it is the mixture of jass, rock and psychedelic music that really carries this record for me and the songs never really meander since the melodies of the various songs are all quite nice.

In order to get a sense of what I am talking about here is a video from the album for the song Star Stuff.  Here is another taste of the band performing live a song from the album called JBS. JBS has more of that jazzy sound that I discussed above but so melodic. I need to find the rest of their albums.